Typical steel vehicle frame assemblies apply a roof side rail that connects to inner and outer members of a structural pillar (e.g., B-pillar) for crash purposes. On aluminum intensive vehicle frame assemblies various structures are applied to provide rigidity and strength for roof crush. For example, it is known to apply a steel roll hoop construction that is fastened to the aluminum frame assembly. It is also known to apply a steel side panel outer atop of aluminum stampings to form the structural pillar and a rear quarter area. It is further known to apply a steel roof side rail stamping with the inner and outer members of the structural pillar.
Increased crash standards especially for roof crush need to be met in all types of vehicles. When creating a high performance vehicle where weight and packaging space is critical an efficient frame assembly needs to be applied, and rigidity is extremely important due to the increased loads from the suspension and higher cornering performance. And because the frame assembly of the high performance vehicle is typically constructed mostly out of aluminum, conventional stampings, which can have a high investment cost for dies, need to be minimized to reduce the cost impact.